Elizabeth Clegg

A change of class to T11 in 2016 resulted in a change of fortune for Clegg who went on to complete the sprint double at Rio 2016.

In the 100m T11 heats in Rio, Clegg opened with a European record of 12.17 seconds and then clocked a world record 11.91 in the semi-finals.

The final was an absolute thriller. Clegg crossed the line in 11.96, 0.02 seconds ahead of China’s Guohua Zhou. World champion Cuiqing Liu was third.

Full of confidence, Clegg went on to secure gold in the 200m T11 smashing the Paralympic record in the final with a time of 24.51.

She was named a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2017.

Rio was Clegg’s third Paralympics. At London 2012 she won 100m T12 silver, a medal she also won in the same event in Beijing in 2008.

Clegg has competed in four World Championships, making her debut in 2006. She has since won five world medals, including 100m T12 gold at the 2011 World Championships in New Zealand.

In 2014 she won 100m T12 Commonwealth Games gold in Glasgow, Great Britain. Illness limited her performances at the 2014 European Championships and an ankle injury sustained whilst warming up for a race in Doha, Qatar, cut short her 2015 World Championships.

Clegg took up Para athletics at age nine, the same age she was diagnosed with Stargardt macular dystrophy, a condition resulting in her having only slight peripheral vision in her left eye.

Her younger brother James won a bronze medal in swimming at the London 2012 Paralympics, and her partner Dan Powell competed in judo at the same event. Her younger brother Stephen participated in swimming at the Rio 2016 Games.

Biography

Impairment information

Type of Impairment

Vision impairment

Origin of Impairment

Congenital

Classification

T11, F11

Guide

Chris Clarke

Further personal information

Family

Partner Dan Powell

Residence

Loughborough, ENG

Occupation

Athlete

Languages

English

Higher education

Massage Therapy, Physical Education - Loughborough College: England

Sport specific information

When and where did you begin this sport?

She took up the sport in 1999 at age nine through the Macclesfield Harriers and Athletic Club in England.

Why this sport?

"I fell in love with running the first time I was taken to an athletics club. I discovered that I liked being competitive. I'm quite shy but running gave me a social environment without having to be too sociable. It was about two years before I won anything, but I really enjoyed the chase."

In May 2017 she sustained a calf injury during training, ruling her out of the 2017 World Championships in London, England. (athleticsweekly.com, 25 May 2017)

She suffered an ankle injury in the warm-up to the 200m semifinal at the 2015 World Championships in Doha, Qatar. The injury forced her out of the championships. (bbc.co.uk, 26 Oct 2015)

A viral infection prevented her from competing at the 2014 European Championships in Swansea, Wales. (bbc.com, 23 Feb 2016)

She injured her hip in 2007. (uka.org.uk, 18 Jan 2010)

Awards and honours

She was the flag bearer for Great Britain at the opening ceremony of the 2018 European Championships in Berlin, Germany. (IPC, 20 Aug 2018)

She was named a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire [MBE] in the 2017 New Year's Honours list for services to athletics and charity. (bbc.com, 31 Dec 2016)

She was named 2014 Para Athlete of the Year by Scottish Athletics. She also received the Dallas Trust Trophy. (scottishathletics.org.uk, 25 Nov 2014)

Famous relatives

Her younger brother James won a bronze medal in swimming [S12 100m butterfly] at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, and her partner Dan Powell competed in judo [81kg] at the same Games. Her younger brother Stephen participated in swimming at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (SportsDeskOnline, 17 Sep 2016; dailymail.co.uk, 20 Aug 2016; elizabethclegg.co.uk, 06 Jun 2013)

Impairment

At age nine she was diagnosed with Stargardt macular dystrophy, a condition resulting in her having only slight peripheral vision in her left eye. (elizabethclegg.co.uk, 06 Jun 2013; bbc.com, 22 Aug 2012)

Other information

FUNDING LOSSIn 2015 she lost her funding from British Athletics after that year's world championships in Doha, Qatar. However, she believes the decision ultimately benefited her. "I learned a lot about myself and to be honest I think it was a kick up the bum that I needed. I had complete control over my own programme and the people that I chose to work with. It was definitely the best thing that happened to me. I surrounded myself with people that wanted the same thing that I did." (paralympic.org, 24 May 2017)